Lauren Taylor won the individual title at the 2013 Big 12 Championship.

May 9, 2013

IRVING, Texas - Baylor freshman Lauren Taylor was named April's Big 12 Conference Women's Golfer of the Month, the conference office announced Thursday. Taylor became the first freshman in conference history to win the award outright twice in a rookie season.

Taylor, who was first honored as October's Big 12 Golfer of the Month, picked up April's award after winning medalist honors at the Big 12 Championship. She cruised to her first tournament win, finishing eight shots ahead of the next closest golfer in the 45-player tournament field. She was also named Big 12 Freshman of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Big 12 team that was announced on May 1.

"I'm really proud of Lauren because I know that she has had some struggles, especially in the middle of the semester," head coach Jay Goble said. "She gutted it out. That's part of becoming an adult and part of becoming a professional-type golfer, you've got to learn to do things on your own. I'm really excited to see her rewarded because she was struggling and she fixed it herself, and that's awesome."

Taylor's honor is the ninth all-time by a Baylor player, and she's the first player in program history to earn multiple Big 12 monthly honors during her career. The Lady Bears have picked up four honors in two seasons under Goble after earning the award five times in the previous nine seasons.

Baylor is competing at the 2013 NCAA West Regional in Stanford, Calif., where the top eight teams will advance to the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship. Teams began play Thursday and will play additional rounds on Friday and Saturday.